Metagenomic characterization of viral communities in Goseong Bay, Korea

• Published in: Ocean science journal Vol. 51; no. 4; pp. 599 - 612
• Main Authors: Hwang, Jinik, Park, So Yun, Park, Mirye, Lee, Sukchan, Jo, Yeonhwa, Cho, Won Kyong, Lee, Taek-Kyun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Seoul Korea Ocean Research and Development Institute and The Korean Society of Oceanography 01.12.2016; Springer Nature B.V; 한국해양과학기술원
• Subjects: Algae; Aquatic Pollution; Bacteriophages; Chemical analysis; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Identification; Marine & Freshwater Sciences; Oceanography; Pathogens; Seawater; Viruses; Waste Water Technology; Water analysis; Water Management; Water Pollution Control; 해양학; South Korea; viral taxonomy; marine virus; Goseong Bay; metagenomics
• ISSN: 1738-5261; 2005-7172
• DOI: 10.1007/s12601-016-0051-7

In this study, seawater samples were collected from Goseong Bay, Korea in March 2014 and viral populations were examined by metagenomics assembly. Enrichment of marine viral particles using FeCl 3 followed by next-generation sequencing produced numerous sequences. De novo assembly and BLAST search showed that most of the obtained contigs were unknown sequences and only 0.74% of sequences were associated with known viruses. As a result, 138 viruses, including bacteriophages (87%), viruses infecting algae and others (13%) were identified. The identified 138 viruses were divided into 11 orders, 14 families, 34 genera, and 133 species. The dominant viruses were Pelagibacter phage HTVC010P and Roseobacter phage SIO1. The viruses infecting algae, including the Ostreococcus species, accounted for 9.4% of total identified viruses. In addition, we identified pathogenic herpes viruses infecting fishes and giant viruses infecting parasitic acanthamoeba species. This is a comprehensive study to reveal the viral populations in the Goseong Bay using metagenomics. The information associated with the marine viral community in Goseong Bay, Korea will be useful for comparative analysis in other marine viral communities.